I'm looking for a svelte device that I can pop a SIM in and make a few phone calls now and then. What I'm more interested in, however, is listening to music, watching movies, browsing the web over Wi-Fi, and taking good quality pictures.

I have up to 200 dollars to spend.

I have been eyeing the Sony Xperia X10, which is admittedly an older device, but it looks pretty good, with the Sony camera, big screen, and the fact it's going for approximately 130 dollars on Amazon.

However, the Sony Xperia X10 looks to be stuck on Android 2.1.

Is the Sony Xperia X10 worth it? Or should I look elsewhere?

Keep in mind I don't really have any high expectations ... I'm coming from a basic flip-phone and a second gen. iPod Nano.

I have an Xperia mini pro. It makes a great music player. The built in music player app is OK. I switched it for the PowerAmp application. It costs $5, but worth every penny. Like you, I mainly use it for playing music, it sounds as good or better than my old mp3 player. I got it on Amazon unlocked for just over $200, although I think they are going for under $200 now. I have a 16G micro SD that holds all my music. You can fit a 32G card for sure, maybe a 64G, you would have to look up the specs. I have a pay as you go SIM card. I rarely make calls so I only need to top it up with $25 evey 3 months. Its a little small for watching movies, but the screen quality is great. If that important, I would probably buy the larger x10. The camera on the mini pro is good, except for low light photos. I takes very good Hi-Def videos though. I would say the x10 at $130 is a steal. I would not worry about the Android version, most apps are compatible with the older versions. An upgrade is available for ICS but I heard about some compatibility issues so I did not install it. It does everything I need now, so why bother.

I rarely make calls so I only need to top it up with $25 evey 3 months.

Thank you for the information. But one question: what cell phone carrier do you use? The carriers I have found only offer minutes that expire after one month, not three months. It would be great if you could share the name of your carrier. Thanks!

So you can actually take an unlocked smartphone and drop in a standard valid SIM card from an AT&T dumbphone and have voice-only operations without any data service?

That's exactly what I did. I got a Pantech flip phone with a prepaid SIM card a few years ago. I bought the Unlocked Sony Xperia on Amazon, and plugged in the SIM card from the Pantech, and it worked. I use WiFi for data and keep the data service switched off, the data does work but it eats up the cash.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The DarkSide

The Xperia Mini is a piece of shit. My little sis-in-law has it,...sluggish, doesn't ring half the time, battery life is horrid, music sq is pretty bad.

I have not had any of the problems you describe. It always rings, I get three days out of the battery, providing I turn off the WiFi when I an not using data. The sound through the headphones is great, but the voice quality when making a call could be better. Maybe your sister has a different model, mine is an Xperia mini pro.

That's exactly what I did. I got a Pantech flip phone with a prepaid SIM card a few years ago. I bought the Unlocked Sony Xperia on Amazon, and plugged in the SIM card from the Pantech, and it worked. I use WiFi for data and keep the data service switched off, the data does work but it eats up the cash.

So, do you theorize that this will work with any android-based smartphone that is unlocked? I.e.; an unlocked Galaxy Note or SG3?

I have an existing AT&T voice-only plan for my dumb-phone...no contract
Think I could take that SIM and drop it into an unlocked SG3 or would the carrier detect it and require me to have a data plan?

I have not had any of the problems you describe. It always rings, I get three days out of the battery, providing I turn off the WiFi when I an not using data. The sound through the headphones is great, but the voice quality when making a call could be better. Maybe your sister has a different model, mine is an Xperia mini pro.

Well, we're used to high end phones - Android, iPhone, and WP7. That phone is a horrid low end device. Mid tier I'd recommend, that's not recommend.

I've heard that they can detect an iPhone and require a data plan, but I don't know how true that is....and I don't know if that would also apply to an Android phone.

Hey Marvin, recognize you from years over at the Sansa Fuze forum.
I guess I need to ask a friend with an android phone if I can try my SIM card and see what happens. Any downside to that do you think?

Hey Marvin, recognize you from years over at the Sansa Fuze forum.
I guess I need to ask a friend with an android phone if I can try my SIM card and see what happens. Any downside to that do you think?

It's worth a try. If the phone company does detect that it is a smart phone with your sim, then you could always put the sim back into your dumb phone and go into the local office with the dumb phone saying,"What do I need a data plan for with this thing?"

Don’t fool yourself, they’ll know exactly what type of phone you put your sim card into. That info is transmitted ... They also collect information, record calls and text msgs and hold for up to a year, just read the “Retention Periods of Major Cellular Service Providers by the Department of Justice.

Don’t fool yourself, they’ll know exactly what type of phone you put your sim card into. That info is transmitted ... They also collect information, record calls and text msgs and hold for up to a year, just read the “Retention Periods of Major Cellular Service Providers by the Department of Justice.

So is this pretty much confirmed? They'll charge you for a data plan if you plug your SIM into an unlocked smartphone?

They do not charge me for a data plan. I think if you read the rules they say you must have a data plan to use data, but you can use the phone to make calls and send text messages, and use WiFi for data, without a data plan. If you do need a data plan they have a $5 a month plan, but you get very little data, I think its 200MB.